Expansible shoe



R. N. RIGSBY EXPANSIBLE SHOE Oct. 16, 1962 Filed Dec. 12, 1961 INVENTOR. ROWENA N. fP/GSBV United States Patent $11013 Rowena N. Rigshy, 726 University Drive, Menlo Park, Calif. File-t1 Dec. 12, 1%1, Ser. No. 158,692 7 (1. 36-25) The present invention relates in general to footwear, and more particularly to a baby shoe that is adapted to be enlarged to compensate for the growth of an infants foot.

This application is a copending application of application, Serial No. 145,553 filed October 17, 1961, for an Expansible Shoe, and of applicants application, Serial No. 145,651, filed October 17, 1961, for an Expansible Shoe.

Since the feet of children grow rapidly during the early years of their lives, shoes that are properly fitted at the time of purchase are soon outgrown. Accordingly, in order that the childrens feet are always enclosed in well-fitting, comfortable shoes, it is necessary to purchase new shoes at frequent intervals.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a shoe that may be enlarged to compensate for the increase in size of a childs foot so that the same shoe may be worn by the child over a protracted period of time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved footwear that is simple in design and economical to manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an infants shoe that can be enlarged at the toe portion thereof to compensate for the growth of an infants foot.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an infants shoe having an improved arrangement for anchoring the toe portion of the shoe to adjust the size of the wear sole to the wearers foot.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an infants shoe wherein the size of the wear sole is ad justed at the toe portion of the shoe accommodate the size of the wearers foot.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a partially fabricated blank from which the shoe of the present invention is made.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shoe made from the blank shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the shoe shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan View of the shoe shown in FIG. 2 with the shoe adjusted for its smaller size.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the shoe shown in FIG. 2 with the shoe adjusted for its larger size.

In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 21) indicates a blank made from soft leather, fabric or pliable plastic material. The blank 2%) includes a central portion 23 and two wings 24 and 25. A wear sole 26, which may be made from soft leather or other suitable material, is secured to the central portion of the blank by stitching 27 along the four sides thereof. In FIG. 1, the bottom or wear surface of the sole 26 is facing upwardly. Also, the finished surfaces of the blank 26, which form the exterior, upper portions of the shoe, are facing upwardly.

The wings 24 and include forward portions 30 and 31, respectively, which form the portion of the shoe upper that overlies the instep of the wearers foot and may be referred to as the vamp of the shoe upper. Formed in the forward wing portion 30 adjacent the inwardly curved edge thereof are spaced eyelets 3-2, 33 and 34. Similarly, formed in the forward wing portion 31 adjacent the inwardly curved edge thereof are spaced eyelets 35, 36 and 37. The wings 24 and 25 also comprise rearward portions 46 and 4-1, respectively, which form confronting side portions of the shoe upper.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wear sole 26 includes a flexible, tapering, rearward portion that projects beyond the rear edge of the blank 26 and forms the portion of the shoe upper that is disposed rearwardly of the heel of the wearers foot. The wear sole 26 also comprises a flexible forward portion 46 which projects beyond the forward edge of the blank 26. A tapering section 50 and wing sections 51 of the forward portion 46 provide a box toe section for the shoe. The remaining section 52 of the forward portion 46 provides a tongue for the shoe. Formed in the section 52 of the wear sole 26 are laterally spaced eyelets 54, 55 and 56. Also, formed in the section 52 are laterally spaced eyelets 57, 58 and 59 that are, respectively, longitudinally spaced from the eyelets 54-56.

To form the shoe 66 of FIG. 2, when the blank 20 and the wear sole 26 are in the position shown in FIG. 1, the wings 51 of the wear sole 26 are pivoted upwardly about a phantom line 61 (FIG. 1) and then folded inwardly so as to be in engagement with side edges 62 and 63 (FIG. 1) of the wear sole 26. Thereupon, the wings 51 are secured by stitching to the side edges 62 and 63, respectively, along seams 65 and 66 to form a box toe for the shoe 60. The section 52 is thereby disposed in an upright position.

After the seams 65 and 66 are formed, the rearward portion 45 of the wear sole 26 is pivoted at an edge 67 of the central portion 23 of the blank 20 until disposed in substantially an upright position. At this time, the wings 24 and 25 are pivoted until rear edges 68 and 69 (FIG. 1) thereof are in abutment with opposing upright sides of the rearward portion 45 of the wear sole 26. The wings 24 and 25 are secured by stitching to the rearward portion of the wear sole 26 along seams 72 and 73 to form the heel portion of the shoe 66. The shoe 6% is then turned inside out so that the wear sole 26 and the finished surfaces of the wings 24 and 25 are on the outside of the shoe.

After the foregoing is completed, the tongue section 52 of the wear sole 26 is folded to a position to overlie the instep portion of the wearers foot and the vamp portions 30 and 31 of the wings 24- and 25, respectively, are then folded to overlie the tongue section 52 of the wear sole 26. A lace or drawstring 86 (FIGS. 2-5) is threaded through the eyelets 32 and 35 of the wings 24 and 25, respectively. End portions 811a and 86b (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the drawstring 86 are optionally brought rearwardly through either the eyelet 5 or through the eyelet 58 in the tongue section 52 of the wear sole 26 dependent on whether the wear sole 26 shall be of the longer length or of the shorter length.

If the lace is threaded through the eyelet 55 of the wear sole 26, then the end portion 86a is threaded through the eyelet 56 and the end portion 80b is threaded through the eyelet 54 of the wear sole 26. The end portion Slla is then brought rearwardly through the eyelets 36 and 34 of the wings 25 and 24, respectively. The end portion 80b is threaded first through the eyelet 33 and then through the eyelet 37 of the wings 24 and 25, respectively. A bow is tied by means of the end portions 80a and 86b of the lace 80.

When the lace 8G is threaded through the eyelet 56, the end portion 80a is threaded through the eyelet 59 and the end portion 89b is threaded through the eyelet 57 of the wear sole 26. The end portion 86a is then brought rearwardly through the eyelets 36 and 34 of the wings 25 and 24, respectively. The end portion 86b is threaded first through the eyelet 33 and then through the eyelet 37 of the wings 24 and 25, respectively. A bow is tied by means of the end portions 86a and 86b of the lace 841.

It Will be evident from FIGS. 3-5, that when the lace Stl is threaded through the forward eyelets 54-56 (FIG. 4) of the wear sole 26, the bendable forward portion 46 of the wear sole 26 extends a considerable distance upwardly along the instep portion of the wearers foot, and the portion of the wear sole 25 underlying the wearers foot is relatively short compared to the portion that underlies the wearers foot when the rearward eyelets 57- 59 (FIG. 5) are employed.

Accordingly, it will be recognized that the bendable forward portion 46 of the wear sole 26 is always anchored at a fixed location on the wings 24- and 25 by means of the lace 8t! and the eyelets 32 and 35 of the wings 24 and 25, respectively. The longitudinally spaced eyelets 54-56 and 5759 of the wear sole 26 provide means whereby the effective length of the wear sole 26 may be varied at the toe portion of the shoe 60. In general, the lace 86 draws the yieldable forward portion 46 of the wear sole 26 rearwardly and upwardly above the instep portion of the wearers foot, thereby causing the forward portion 4-6 at the toe section 56 to bend at a pivot point close to the toe of the wearer, thus automatically selecting the proper length of the wear sole 26 for the wearers foot.

It is to be observed that the anchoring of the wear sole 26 occurs at the same location of the Wings 24 and 25 whether the portion of the Wear sole 26 underlying the wearers foot is of the longer length or of the shorter length. Further, the same eyelets of the wings 24- and 25 receive the lace 80 whether the effective length of the wear sole is shorter or longer. In addition, the wear sole 26 remains in the anchored position until further adjustment is made. The pivoting or bending of the Wear sole 26 to adjust the effective length thereof occurs at the toe section 5t thereof. The wear sole 26 forms the portion of the shoe 6d projecting rearwardly of the wearers heel, the portion of the shoe 60 underlying the wearers foot, the toe portion of the shoe 60 and the tongue of the shoe 6!).

It is to be understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A shoe comprising a sole having a rearward section and a flexible forward section including a first portion underlying the toes of the foot of the wearer and a second portion projecting rearwardly from said underlying portion to overlie the instep of the foot of the wearer, means providing forward eyelets and rearward eyelets in said second portion of said sole, a vamp secured to said rearward section of said sole and adapted to overlie the instep of the wearers foot, means defining eyelets in said vamp, and a drawstring disposed in the eyelets of said vamp and adapted to be selectively threaded at times through the forward eyelets in said section portion of said sole and at other times through the rearward eyelets in said secend portion of said sole, whereby when said drawstring is disposed in said forward eyelets in said second portion of said sole and tightened within the eyelets of said vamp, the sole underlying the foot of the wearer will be shorter than when said drawstring is disposed in the rearward eyelets in said second portion of said sole and tightened within the eyelets of said vamp.

2. A shoe comprising a sole having a rearward section and a flexible forward section including a first portion underlying the toes of the foot of the wearer and a second portion projecting rearwardly from said underlying portion to overlie the instep of the foot of the wearer, means providing forward eyelets and rearward eyelets in said second portion of said sole, a vamp secured to said rearward section of said sole and adapted to overlie the instep of the wearers foot, means defining a pair of eyelets in said vamp, and a drawstring disposed in said pair of eyelets of said vamp and adapted to be selectively threaded at times through the forward eyelets in said second portion of said sole and at other times through the rearward eyelets in said second portion of said sole for adjusting the length of said sole underlying the foot of the wearer and for anchoring said second portion of said wear sole to the same location on said vamp for any adjusted length of said wear sole.

3. A shoe comprising a sole having a rearward section and a flexible forward section including a first portion underlying the toes of the foot of the wearer and a second portion projecting rearwardly from said underlying portion to overlie the instep of the foot of the wearer, means providing forward eyelets and rearward eyelets in said second portion of said sole, a vamp secured to said rearward section of said sole and adapted to overlie said second portion of said sole, means defining eyelets in said vamp, and a drawstring disposed in the eyelets of said vamp and adapted to be selectively threaded at times through the forward eyelets in said second portion of said sole and at other times through the rearward eyelets in said second portion of said sole for adjusting the length of said sole underlying the foot of the wearer.

4. A shoe comprising a sole having a rearward section and a flexible forward section underlying the toes of the foot of the wearer, a tongue on said forward section projecting rearwardly therefrom to overlie the instep of the foot of the wearer, means providing forward eyelets and rearward eyelets in said tongue, a vamp secured to said rearward section of said sole and adapted to overlie the instep portion of a wearers foot, mean defining eyelets in said vamp, and a drawstring disposed in the eyelets of said vamp and adapted to be selectively threaded at times through the forward eyelets in said tongue and at other times through the rearward eyelets in said tongue for flexing said forward section of said sole to adjust the length of said sole underlying the foot of the wearer.

5. A shoe comprising a sole having a rearward section, a flexible box toe section and a flexible tongue section, means defining forward eyelets and rearward eyelets in said tongue section, a vamp secured to said rearward section of said sole and adapted to overlie the instep portion of the wearers foot, means providing eyelets in said vamp, and a drawstring disposed in the eyelets of said vamp and adapted to be selectively threaded at times through the forward eyelets in said tongue section and at other times through the rearward eyelets in said tongue section for pivoting said box toe section to adjust the length of said sole underlying the foot of the wearer.

6. A shoe comprising a sole having a rear section adapted for positioning rearwardly of the wearers foot, a flexible intermediate section adapted to underlie the foot of the wearer, a flexible toe section and a flexible tongue section, wings secured to said rear section and said intermediate section of said sole, said wings being arranged to form the shoe upper with a portion thereof overlying the instep portion of the wearers foot, means providing eyelets in the portion of said wings overlying the instep portion of the wearers foot, means defining forward eyelets and rearward eyelets in said tongue section of said sole, and a drawstring disposed in the eyelets of said wings and adapted to be selectively threaded at times through the forward eyelets in said tongue section and at other times through the rearward eyelets in said tongue section to adjust the length of said sole underlying the foot of the wearer.

7. A shoe comprising a sole having a rearward section, a flexible toe section and a flexible tongue section, means defining three laterally spaced forward eyelets in said tongue section and three laterally spaced rearward eyelets in said tongue section, a vamp secured to said rearward section of said sole and adapted to overlie said tongue section, means providing eyelets in said vamp, a drawstring having segments thereof threaded through the eyelets of said vamp and selectively threaded at times in the central forward eyelet of said tongue section with one segjacent rearward eyelet for adjusting the length of said ment thereof threaded in one laterally adjacent forward underlying the foot of the wearereyelet and with another segment thereof threaded in an- References Cited in the file of this patent other laterally adjaeent forward eyelet and at other times 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS sald drawstring being threaded in the central rearward 1,894,561 Guifire Jan 17 1933 eyelet of said tongue section with said one segment there- 2 169 337 D avis Aug 15 1939 of threaded in one laterally adjacent rearward eyelet and 213911720 'i 25 1945 with said other segment threaded in another laterally ad- 2,603,889 Lahnstein July 2 1 5 I 

